According to the present invention, an image processing system for processing scanned images using a user predefined parameters and acceptable tolerances. When a scanned image falls outside the scope of the predefined parameter tolerances, the system invokes a real-time user interactive process which involves a continuous looping back process comprising prompting the user for image setting data, loading the image data from a fast memory device such as a cache, generating processed image data and displaying the processed image data on a display terminal, prompting the user for acceptance of the processed image data. This process loops back to the beginning until the user accepts the processed image data. This invention provides the user with an efficient and time saving method of scanning documents by precluding the user having to physically reload the document into the scanner should the scanned quality be unacceptable, and an interactive method to set the attributes of a paper scanner.